We Were Golden
by Leah-West
Summary: The 1970's was the time when things outside were changing but inside the confines of Hogwarts, a group of teenagers were golden, some unfazed by the occurrences in the outside, however, they were the ones who changed it all. Marauder-era. Multi-Character
1. Apologies

Disclaimer: Credit goes to the ah-mazing J.K. Rowling. Part of this chapter is from _The Prince's Tale_ in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I do not own the characters, except by oc Nichola Lewis.

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><p>Sadness. Humiliation. Anger. Confusion. Betrayal.<p>

Lily Evans sat on her four-poster bed, her knees pressed to her chest as she hugged them. She was waiting, waiting for her eyes to spill the tears that were pooled in them, however they did not budge, so all she accomplished on her curtained privacy was a leg cramp.

She would be lying if she said she hadn't been expecting what happened earlier that day. Months and months of endless bickering led to this, she saw how humanity was leaving his eyes, making them impossibly darker. He hadn't smiled in months, not even at her witty jokes that used to provoke a slight upward in his lips—it didn't seem like much to others, but coming from Severus, Lily knew it was a pretty huge deal—but what did bring him satisfaction was taunting other who he thought were below him.

_Mudbloods_, to be more specific.

She had heard those nasty Slytherins whisper that word behind her back, but never paid them mind, as their opinion mattered very little to her. When Severus—_Snape_—had practically shouted at her, it was not the word that cut through her like a million knives, it was the look in his black eyes, a look of pure loathe and disdain. He, who had told her it didn't matter she came from a non-wizarding family when they were kids, was now looking down at her as if she were scum. The world had stopped for Lily and any hopes of rescuing Snape from the greedy claws of the Dark Arts were now lost, shattered like their friendship was now.

So she ran, ran from Snape's accusing eyes, ran from Potter's pleads to _please wait_.

She had spent all day in her dorm, staring at her brightly painted toes and waited for sleep to take over. It did not.

Mary Macdonald and Emmeline Vance occasionally brought supper from the Great Hall and placed it on Lily's night table, which she ignored and was now laying cold after three hours.

Sighing and wiping her eyes, she drew the curtains from her bed and stood up. Her third roommate, Marlene McKinnon was already tucked in bed, her dark hair in a messy bun on the top of her head and she was reading what Lily thought, her finished Ancient Runes essay.

At the sound of Lily's bed creak, Marlene looked up from her essay and gave Lily a sympathetic smile, "All right, love?"

Lily had always liked Marlene, she was her first friend at Hogwarts, aside from Snape and despite coming from a pureblood family, and she had always respected Lily. So she nodded and gave the best smile she could produce.

After getting her dressing gown from her trunk, she made her way to the loo. Inside it, she stared at her reflection in the mirror, expecting to see what she was feeling inside project on her face. But everything was normal, there was no pain in her eyes, they were only blood-shot from the tears.

She shook her head and got dressed quickly, tying her auburn hair in a messy ponytail and exited to her dorm. Mary and Emmeline were back, as well as Nichola Lewis, their fifth and final roommate. Marlene was asleep; Nichola as well and Emmeline was reading her Potions book. Mary, however, got to her feet when Lily re-entered.

"Um, Lily," she nervously started, "I-I don't know if you want to hear this and I wouldn't blame you if you didn't, but he _was_ very persistent, the slimy git but-"

"Just spit it out Mary."

Mary sighed, "Snape's outside the Common Room, I told him to get lost but he threatened to stay the night if you didn't go out"

"You don't have to go Lil," Emmeline said, looking up from her book, "So what if he stays the night in the hard floor? The prat deserves that and more for what he did"

Lily considered this, she had nothing to say to Severus but she also considered that if she didn't get things straight with him _now_, he would be pestering her for what was left of the year.

"It's fine, I'll go," she slid her slippers on and despite Emmeline's protests, she made her way down to the Common Room.

Despite the late hour, it didn't surprise her to see the Marauders there. Remus was engulfed with a book, while Peter, Black and Potter were commencing a round of Exploding Snap. As if he had a radar, Potter lifted his eyes to her and his hand quickly went to his hair, which he seemed to regret when Lily rolled her eyes and continued her way to the portrait hole.

_Bloody idiot._

Outside, she found Snape sitting on the ground beside the portrait of the Fat Lady and she finally came into view, he jumped up and immediately said:

"I'm sorry."

She wanted to believe him, she honestly did but his eyes betrayed any kind of sincerity. Was there regret? Yes, there was but it was not was Lily was looking for. She was tired of _this_ Snape, and when before she felt pity, now all she felt was annoyance.

"I'm not interested," she said folding her arms.

"I'm sorry!" he pleaded again, a slight edge on his voice.

"Save your breath."

She expected him to leave at this, he only stood his ground and Lily glared at him.

"I only came out because Mary told me you were threatening to sleep here."

"I was, I would have done. I never meant to call you Mudblood, It just-"

This caused Lily to explode.

"Slipped out?" Her green eyes were now slits. "It's too late. I've made excuses for you for years. None of my friends can understand why I even _talk_ to you. You and your precious little Death Eater friends — you see, you don't even deny it! You don't even deny that's what you're all aiming to be! You can't wait to join You-Know-Who, can you?"

Her hands were shaking from the anger, her cheeks turning crimson with exasperation. Snape opened his mouth to say something but quickly closed it.

"I can't pretend anymore." Lily continued. "You've chosen your way, I've chosen mine." She turned to leave but Snape had more to say.

"No — listen, I didn't mean—"

Lily looked over her shoulder, a sad expression in her eyes, "—to call me Mudblood? But you call everyone of my birth Mudblood, Severus." She thought of Mary, and her almost attack by Mulciber. "Why would _I_ be any different?"

When he provided no answer, she muttered the password and climbed through the portrait hole once more. Inside, she dragged her feet through the empty Common Room when a voice made jump.

"Evans?"

Well, almost, empty Common Room.

She turned and came face to face with Potter, who was sitting in front of the fire in his pyjama trousers and an old Tornadoes' Quidditch jersey. She also noticed he was rolling the Golden Snitch with his fingers, and as a Prefect, she glared, knowing he had probably nicked it.

"You should return that."

He stared at her, his eyebrows knitted in confusion. "Come again?"

"The Snitch. I reckon you stole it, so you should probably return it."

She saw how he smirked at this realization, which irritated her, but then again, anything James Potter did irritated her.

"You really don't know anything about Quidditch, don't you Evans?"

She scoffed. "I know all the players tend to be prats, you being the biggest of them all."

A flash of hurt flashed in his hazel eyes and she turned to leave, but again, he spoke.

"They have flesh memories, the Snitches, so we can't really use them again once the Seeker catches it. I caught this one when I played Seeker the one time Morgan was in the Hospital Wing, so McGonagall let me keep it."

"Oh", was all Lily said.

"Yeah." There was a big silent pause before Potter spoke again, "You know, I'm sorry right?"

Lily's natural reaction would've been to glare as this was the second apology involving the parties of the lake incident but once she saw the sincerity in Potter's eyes, her glare turned into a frown.

"_You_ are sorry?"

He just nodded and seeing Potter this way, without his usual air of cockiness and the ever-present smirk on his face, made her consider his apology.

"And not just for today, for all the other years too," he responded.

"Oh," she said rather surprised, "it's alright, I guess."

"It is?" James was just as surprised as Lily was, maybe a little bit more, and she thought he might have expected Lily to blow up and start shouting at him about how much of a sodding git he was. And though she considered it, she was much too tired and was in desperate need of her bed.

She nodded and turned, her feet taking her to the stairs that led to the girls' dormitory.

"Evans?" Potter called once more before she started ascending the staircase, "Am I really that big of a prat?"

"That biggest one I know," was all she said.

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><p>I KNOW starting another one, when my previous only has one chapter? (Which is in hiatus because I have no idea how to continue). But this won't be a story, just a serious of one-shots of what I think happened in the Marauder-era. It will not be only LilyJames but also other characters, including the Black sisters. I will really appreciate if you reviewed! And please drop a comment on what you would like to see! (However, I refuse to write au love story between Lily and Snape, only one-sided unrequited love ones).

Hope you enjoyed!

Leah-West


	2. The White Sheep

Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me, all of this is J.K. Rowling's

P.s. MAKE SURE TO FOLLOW MY TUMBLR FOR UPDATE AND TEASERS! The link is in my profile :)

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><p>Sirius Black sat on his bed in Number 12 Grimmauld Place a stormy night in July, his eyes flickering to the various posters of the Muggle girls I bikinis that were plastered on his crimson and gold walls. Although they did not move as a magical photograph would, he still enjoyed them and could let his mind wander for hours a day but just looking at the fit girls in little clothing. He also stared at that weird Muggle conjunction—a motorcycle, Moony later told him—and wondered if he could possibly charm one so it could fly, he didn't really fancy broomsticks. That was another difference he had from his little brother Regulus—<em>nasty little prig, he thought<em>—who was rather brilliant at it, not that Sirius would ever admit to that aloud.

His eyes then travelled to his Gryffindor banners and forgetting all bikini-clad Muggle girls, he began to wonder what his life would be like if he hadn't met James on the train. Would he be a Slytherin? Would he be a pureblood supremacist like his mother? Or taunt Muggle-borns? Or worse, would he be following Mulciber's crowd on hoping to become a Death Eater? He shuddered at the thought and his stomach turned at the mere thought of bearing the Dark Mark on his left forearm.

He considered himself, and his cousin Andromeda, the _white_ sheep of the Black family and although Andromeda was, in fact, a Slytherin, not long had she married Ted Tonks, a Muggle-born and Hufflepuff. She was instantly disowned and blasted from his mother's precious family tree. Once, when he was eleven, he dreaded being blasted off the family tree, like his late aunt Isla Black, who was blasted off when she too married a Muggle-born. He admired his cousin's courage and now all he wanted was to be blasted off, so he would have no connections with this deranged family.

But leaving this family came with consequences, possibly deadly ones.

When Andromeda left that card for her sisters, Bellatrix was livid and swore to give that _nasty bloodtraitor_ what she deserved next time she saw her, Aunt Druella literally destroyed Andromeda's old bedroom so there was no reminder of her in her "pure home" but Narcissa, who was always very close to her older sister, had cried for days, until Bellatrix reprimanded her and said it was of no worth to cry over scum.

He had exchanged correspondence with his cousin, asking her to not go out in public places, such as Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade, for Bellatrix was just dying to try some of her new curses on someone. She wrote back telling him not to worry, that she and Ted—along with three-year old Nymphadora—were living in a little cottage in the country and had no intentions of returning to England anytime soon. He was relieved, Andromeda was his favourite cousin and he didn't want her to be injured by her sister.

A soft knock on the door brought him back to reality and in a husky voice he let the intruder of his thoughts enter his room.

"Sirius?" It was Regulus.

"What do you want?" Sirius snapped whilst standing up, "I'm busy."

His younger brother rolled his eyes and folded his arms, "Mum wants to talk to you, and she's in the drawing room."

Not wanting to hear his mother's piercing screams if he didn't come down, she reluctantly followed Regulus out of his room. On their way down the stairs, Sirius noticed some Prophet cuttings in his brother's hands and three words caught his attention. _Voldemort. Death. Eaters._

"Guess you took Voldemort's ideals to heart, huh?"

"_You_ dare to say his name? Think you're some big shot like those idiots at the Prophet, eh? We shall not be disrespectful to him."

How he wanted to laugh! Respect? To a notorious murderer? _Not bloody likely!_

"Oh, I'm sorry Reg, what am I supposed to call him? Dark Lord, perhaps?"

"Precisely," his brother said with pride.

When they stopped in from of the drawing room, Sirius turned to his brother, "You're going to regret this Reggie, mark my words."

Regulus glared at him, his grey eyes cold and hard as steel, "Sod off." He stormed back to his room.

He sighed and knocked on the door, an old fashion his mother still requested from her sons.

"Come in," said the high-pitched voice of Walburga Black.

"Hullo mum," said Sirius entering the room and taking a seat in front of his mother, "Regulus said you wanted to see me?"

Walburga Black was a fifty-one year old witch that looked as if she were a hundred and fifty-one, with grey skin—caused by the lack of sun—and round shiny black eyes that reminded everyone who looked into them of coal. Her black hair was in a tight bun on the top of her head and she wore possibly all the family heirlooms on her neck and fingers.

"Yes, as you see, you are soon entering your sixth year and your father and I discussed your future, as the oldest, it is your obligation to continue the pure family line and produce a suitable heir with a suitable wife."

Sirius' heart stopped. Children? Wife? _What the sodding hell?_

"We have addressed Marcel and Clarisse Bulstrode, and they told us their daughter, Marchessa, was more than willing to become your wife."

"Marchessa Bulstrode? Isn't she a third year?" He was flabbergasted, how could he possibly marry such a young girl? Fuck's sake, he wasn't even seventeen yet!

"Oh yes, and a Slytherin too! And although you were placed in that _horrible_ house, she—"

"I'm not marrying her! What is this? The seventeenth century?"

"Yes you will! We have already arranged it and it's your duty to oblige!"

"You can't! I swear on Merlin's old saggy left—"

"SIRIUS ORION BLACK! YOU WILL NOT USE THAT COMMON LANGUAGE IN THIS HOUSE!"

As Sirius was about to retaliate, there was a faint _pop!_ And Kreacher, the house elf, appeared with a tray of treacle tarts. He looked at the older Black in admiration and vowed his head, "Kreacher has brought the dessert Mistress wanted."

"Put them in the table Kreacher," his mistress ordered with kindness and Sirius pondered if maybe his mother loved the house elf more than her own son.

Kreacher vowed once again and when he turned to Sirius, he scowled, "Master Sirius."

Sirius glared and nodded before Kreacher dissaparated again.

Walburga cleared her throat, "And about you choice of…_friends_, the Potter boy, although a pureblood, comes from the biggest blood-traitor family aside from the Weasley's. And then there's the other boy, Lupin, was it? From what Regulus has told me, he is a half-blood and that is just unacceptable." She took a bite of her treacle tart, cleared her throat and continued, "Now, your father is now in his study, writing a letter to the Headmaster. We want him to transfer you to Slytherin so you can be better acquainted with the Bulstrode girl and—"

"NO!" He had enough. He stood up, knocking the tray off the table and glared at his mother, who was appalled by his behaviour. "I WILL NOT LET YOU DICTATE MY LIFE! I HAVE HAD **ENOUGH**!"

He turned his back on his mother and exited the drawing room, ignoring his mother's threats.

"_Orion! Orion!" _His mother desperately called as Sirius went up to his room. This was it. He imagined his face on the family tree being blasted off and only leaving a dark spot in its place and although he had dreaded this once; now, it was all he wanted.

In his room, he started packing his clothes inside his school trunk, along with various pieces of parchment, a few of his posters and some stuff he bought at Zonko's a few weeks ago. He closed it, and grabbed his wand from his drawer, putting it in the inside of his jacket. But before, he casted a Permanent Sticking Charm on his posters and school banners. He smirked at the image of his parents trying to get rid of them.

He was leaving. He was _finally_ leaving.

"Going somewhere?" Sirius looked up to see Regulus standing on the doorway, a grim expression on his face.

"You should too, the sooner you get out of this mess the better."

"I can't do that!" The younger one protested. "And neither should you, it's going to break mum's heart!"

Sirius snorted, "Old Wally doesn't even have a heart to break, but honestly Reggie, you could come with me and leave all this Death Eater shit behind."

"It's not shit! It's the future, under that Dark Lord's regime. Stay Sirius, it's the right thing to do." He could see the plead in Regulus eyes, his little brother was begging him to stay and Sirius knew his answer would break his heart.

"I am sorry Regulus, and I just hope we don't encounter in the future, for both our sakes."

He really hoped it. He didn't want to face Regulus in the future, now that he knew his brother's wishes to be a Death Eater.

With a final nod, he grabbed his trunk and passed by Regulus and went down the stairs for the last time. His mother's screams had now ceased and the house was silent.

The entrance corridor, to Sirius, was the length of a thousand miles. He just couldn't wait to get out and get a breather of fresh air, to finally be free of his family.

He finally got to the door, and freedom was welcoming him with open arms.

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><p>Even though he had just gotten out of school, James Potter was already working on new Quidditch tactics for the new season. Now that he was made Captain and four of the seven people the formed the team had already graduated last term, he had to work very hard to win the Cup again.<p>

"Master Potter?" James turned to find Val, his house elf, on the foot of his bed, looking at him with her big eyes, "There's someone at door requesting to see you."

He placed his parchments aside and followed Val to the ground floor, "Do y'know who it is?"

"Val has never seen this person before Master, he only told Val to come and fetch you."

Once in front of the door, he said thanks to Val and the little elf in a tea cosy vowed and left to go to the kitchens again.

James opened the door to find a drenched Sirius with his school trunk in hand. "Padfoot, what are you doing here?"

Sirius gave his best friend a smug smile, "Hullo Prongs, yeah, it's lovely to see you too," He entered the Potter house and looked around, "Nice place you got here, mind if I crash for some time?"

With a shrug, James said there would be no problem and guided him to one of the many guest rooms his home had.

"You'll me alright mate?"

"Believe me, I will"

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><p>Days later, Sirius received a letter from an unknown owl. He hesitated on opening it, fearing it would be a howler from his family; he took the risk, however, and was surprised to see it was from his Uncle Alphard.<p>

_Dear Sirius,_

_It was only two days later that I received the news that you had abandoned Grimmauld Place. Don't worry, I didn't write to reprimand you but to congratulate you. It took a lot of courage to do what you did and I admire both you and Andromeda for doing what I couldn't all those years back. According to your Mother, you are now disowned and all the inheritance will go to young Regulus instead._

_Now, as you know, I am very old and because I didn't produce any heirs, I don't want my money to go to waste. With your letter, I have enclosed the key to my Gringotts vault and I have already informed the goblins of the change of owner, so once you turn seventeen—which I believe is in a few months—you will be able to rightfully claim all that is inside the vault._

_I wish you a life of happiness and good luck on your new term!_

_Please don't hesitate on writing back, just send your response with Cornell._

_- Uncle Alphard_

_P.s. Guess who got blasted off the tree for treason?_

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><p>I want to thank Lightning and Blossoms for being my first reviewer for this story! And also all of those who added this story to their alerts!<p>

I hope you enjoyed this, I personally liked it, so I hope you do too:) I also posted a dream cast for this story on my profile, so check it out! And it may be easier for you to imagine the characters.

Please review! And it may help my inspiration for writing a third one :D

Lots of love

- Leah-West


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